Can't decide between 7950 or 660 Ti, and different manufacturers

[Oxynium]

Hey all,

I want to upgrade my Graphics Card and am choosing between 7950 and 660 Ti.
Here in Singapore the 7950's are cheaper than the 660 Ti's by about 20 Singapore Dollars (SGD). (FYI 1 USD = 1.221 SGD)

I plan to play a lot of BF3, GTA IV, Skyrim, Saints Row the Third, and may be also some new releases like AC 3 and Far Cry 3.

My PC spec's (it's actually an Acer Aspire M3970 model)
i5-2320 CPU @3.00 GHz
8 GB DDR3 RAM (2x4 GB )
Nvidia GT 520
300 W PSU

1920x1080 resolution

The prices (in Singapore Dollars)
Asus GTX660Ti DC II 2GB DDR5 => 489
Asus GTX660Ti DC II 2GB DDR5 OC (TOP) => 515
MSI N660Ti 2GB DDR5 Power Edition OC => 489

Sapphire HD7950 3GB OC with Boost => 469
Sapphire HD7950 3GB Vapor-X => 475
XFX R7950 3GB Double-Dissipation => 449
MSI R7950 3GB DDR5 Twin Frozr III => 485

I have posted a similar post in another tech forum, and most of the folks said 7950 is much better.
If I were to take the 7950, which 7950 should I get?
I also plan to do some overclocking (I will be trying not to touch the voltages).
My case has a side vent with many holes so I think there is sufficient ventilation.

I will be upgrading my PSU to a CM Silent Pro Gold 600W.
Will my CPU bottleneck? Thanks for reading and helping me out

 

[FTR.4500MHz]

This is a no brainer: 7950 all the way (cheaper, and overclocked it performs beastly!)

 

[Oxynium]

This is a no brainer: 7950 all the way (cheaper, and overclocked it performs beastly!)

OK I was just double-checking and stuff
Which 7950 would you recommend? and also will my CPU bottleneck? PS Thank you for the reply

 

[FTR.4500MHz]

Your cpu should not bottleneck you at all. For the graphic card i would try choosing between the XFX DD and the MSI (it's hard tho)

 

[seumasbeathan]

Indeed, 7950 is the better card

 

[tinytomlogan]

Bottle neck - give him the n0000b badge

Youll need a new gpu, new psu, new ram, new fuck it you need a whole new PC really!

 

[Oxynium]

Well I have no money for a new case nor a new motherboard...
Why would I need new ram? I admit that I am a noob...just asking to make things sure

 

[FTR.4500MHz]

Indeed your psu will not make your Gpu choice possible. I didnt realise you had only 300W under the hood neither that your PC was an ACER.

I think you should reset your priorities......

 

[jamesriley94]

Well I have no money for a new case nor a new motherboard...
Why would I need new ram? I admit that I am a noob...just asking to make things sure

You won't need necessarily. But the 7950 is a big card, and may not fit in the case. You'll also definitely need a new power supply to power it, which depending on the internals of the case, it may not take a standard ATX psu.

It could also be a 'custom' motherboard and so may not fit into a new case you bought, so could mean you'd have to get a new board too.

And the RAM, I wouldn't say you'd 'need' new RAM, but yours will be the cheapest 1333mhz DDR3 kit Acer could get their hands on.

In factory built PCs like yours, you're always limited for upgrades really.

 

[Oxynium]

You won't need necessarily. But the 7950 is a big card, and may not fit in the case. You'll also definitely need a new power supply to power it, which depending on the internals of the case, it may not take a standard ATX psu.

I have already measured the inside of the case, and it has more than enough room to fit the 7950, and the PSU is a standard ATX PSU (FSP 300W)

And yeah I do know the RAM is a very cheap 1333 MHz RAM I may change it in the future as it's not that expensive

 

[jamesriley94]

That your case?
If so, I can see a big graphics card like a 7950 getting a little starved of air. No air intake on the front, and next to no room to exhaust the air either.

I would personally wait till you have more money and do it properly. Just to the extent of buying a new case, psu and motherboard - RAM isn't essential yet.

 

[SPS]

I have already measured the inside of the case, and it has more than enough room to fit the 7950, and the PSU is a standard ATX PSU (FSP 300W)

And yeah I do know the RAM is a very cheap 1333 MHz RAM I may change it in the future as it's not that expensive

In that case you should be able to swap out the PSU for something with more powerz.

 

[Oxynium]

That your case?
If so, I can see a big graphics card like a 7950 getting a little starved of air. No air intake on the front, and next to no room to exhaust the air either.

I would personally wait till you have more money and do it properly. Just to the extent of buying a new case, psu and motherboard - RAM isn't essential yet.

There's a side vent, that wouldn't help?

 

[Oxynium]

In that case you should be able to swap out the PSU for something with more powerz.

Oh I forgot to put that I am getting a CM Silent Pro Gold 600W in the main post..my apologies

 

[jamesriley94]

A little...
But obviously it won't be nearly as good as fans. You should always have at least something intaking and exhausting in a PC.

Factory PCs are never really designed well. All about cost - no upgradability.

 

[SPS]

After looking at that case, it is going to be getting a little toasty in there, what speed is that PCI-E slot running at x16?

 

[Oxynium]

A little...
But obviously it won't be nearly as good as fans. You should always have at least something intaking and exhausting in a PC.

Factory PCs are never really designed well. All about cost - no upgradability.

There's a fan at the back, which exhausts the air. I am assuming it intakes air from the side vent since that's the only space for air to come into the case. If ventilation will be a big problem then I can hold off upgrading the Graphics and save more money Thanks for the reply

 

[Oxynium]

After looking at that case, it is going to be getting a little toasty in there, what speed is that PCI-E slot running at x16?

It's a PCI-e 2.0 x16 slot. I think the speed is 2.5 Gbps

 

[jamesriley94]

There's a fan at the back, which exhausts the air. I am assuming it intakes air from the side vent since that's the only space for air to come into the case. If ventilation will be a big problem then I can hold off upgrading the Graphics and save more money Thanks for the reply

I know it has an exhaust - but it doesn't have a proper fan for intaking air, which it should really have if you're using a card like a 7950.

You could easily enough get a motherboard, PSU and case for £150-200, if you want some idea of what you'll need to spend.